A Great Christmas Sacrifice

After a series of lost battles and retreats had left morale dangerously low among the soldiers. Many of the soldiers were inclined to leave the army once their commission expired on December 31, 1776. Several men had taken the opportunity to desert the army before their enlistments were even up. It appeared that drastic measures needed to be taken.On December 25, 1776 (Christmas morning), after The German (mercenaries) Hessians had been drinking and celebrating on Christmas Eve; Washington, knowing that they would be hung over, off guard, and likely asleep, led his men over The Delaware River, into Trenton, for a surprise attack. In the early morning, a hail and sleet storm had broken out in the crossing, winds were strong and the river was full of ice floes. The weather conditions were treacherous. Several conditions put them behind schedule, however, around 4 a.m., General Washington gave the order to attack.The Hessians were known to be great fighters, however, this brilliant strategy by Washington (and his generals); coupled with the army’s disillusionment; hungry, tired and frustrated, they surprised The Hessians with no mercy; on this day only three Americans were killed and six wounded, while 22 Hessians were killed with 98 wounded. The Americans were able to capture 1,000 prisoners and seize muskets, powder, and artillery. This battle, against all odds, was a complete onslaught, and no doubt, this battle (The Battle Of Trenton) could have been the deal breaker for The American Revolution. However, it turned out to be a turning point for The Revolution, and many of these brave men continued on (with later help from The French) to an eventual victory over Great Britain.These are sacrifices of mass proportion, for our Independence, and all of the freedoms that we often take for granted. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_crossing_of_the_DelawareSo, while we can often get caught up in ruts, and things can often look gloomy; with a simple Internet search, you can find that many men and woman, prior, (and today still) have made greater sacrifices then we could ever imagine; so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have, today, in this country.I’m sure that many of these men, including Washington, would have preferred to be home with loved ones on Christmas, however, they felt as though they were fighting a cause greater then themselves, and that was freedom from the monarchy of England.MarkReferences used from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_crossing_of_the_Delaware